With less time out of the workforce, and cheaper fees, European MBAs are gaining global appeal

An MBA is a huge investment, with the total cost — including two years of lost earnings — at an elite US business school such as Harvard or Wharton priced by some estimates at more than $300,000. But a one-year MBA program in Europe such as at INSEAD will give you a much faster payback, as you will spend less time out of the workforce — and pay for only 12 months of tuition.

Forbes has ranked the top one-year MBAs based on payoff. The US magazine compared graduates’ earnings in their first five years out of business school to the opportunity cost — forgone compensation, tuition and other fees — to...